SAN ANTONIO — Texas governor Greg Abbott called out the social media platform TikTok on Thursday, accusing the social media platform of allowing the cartel to recruit teenagers to assist in crimes.
Abbott said San Antonio is seeing a rapid increase in numbers of cartels advertising on TikTok to recruit teenagers to assist in their crimes, including smuggling people and drugs.
"TikTok, stop allowing your platform to be used for cartels to advertise to recruit Texans or Americans to commit crimes aiding and abetting cartels," Abbott said. "Otherwise, TikTok, you are a part of a criminal enterprise of aiding and abetting cartels committing crimes in the United States of America."
These comments were made during a roundtable Abbott had with Texas law enforcement to discuss border security and ways to keep Texas communities safe.
Last week, Abbott met with governors of several northern-Mexico states whom he said have agreed to step up security efforts on their side of the border in exchange for Texas halting its short-lived, controversial practice of expanded truck searches.
“What they’ve agreed to is heightened security measures on their side of the border that will reduce illegal immigration into Texas,” Abbott said.
The governor also put President Joe Biden on blast, repeating a familiar refrain that the federal government isn’t doing enough to assist in border enforcement.
“The Biden administration needs to step up and start enforcing the laws passed by Congress, period.”
Local officials on hand pointed out that boosted law enforcement ranks will remain a priority as long as San Antonio continues to grow. According to data from the most recent U.S. census, Bexar County’s population grew by about 295,000 residents between 2010 and 2020, amounting to a 17% increase.
“The bottom line is this: Texans deserve safe communities,” Abbott said. “Safe communities is a Texas value. Safe communities need law enforcement officers to help keep those communities safe.”